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Dude Ranch Life: What’s happening at the Ranch

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged as I seem to just keep finding myself running here and there, and not planted down in front of my computer. Go figure, it’s a ranch! With the kids back in school and a few less guests because of that, it seems to feel a little more quiet this week. If you haven’t been following where we are in the season, this week is the first of our adult-only weeks. It really tends to feel like a big switch from one season to another. The college-age staff are leaving and returning to their studies which includes most of the kid wrangler crew. The “late-season” hires have or are arriving and getting dialed into their jobs for the fall season. The schedule shifts a bit with no kids and shorter daylight hours. For example, the breakfast ride turns into a brunch ride because while getting up early for a morning ride is lovely, no one really wants to ride in the dark and sit out at Homestead eating a breakfast while shivering at the same time.

Although we have lots of great staff who come and go here, every once in a while there is a departure that needs to be recognized. This week seems a little more quiet with the absence of Troy Corless. Troy has been a guest favorite for years, but we always tell our staff there comes a time when they’ve learned what they needed to learn here at the ranch and it’s time to fly. Troy realized it was that time and he found an amazing opportunity that made it a no-brainer to stretch out those wings and head out. He will be joining a very talented farrier in the east for an apprenticeship. This is such a great opportunity for Troy, and we are so happy to see him go off to take the next step in his profession. No doubt there were tears shed, but we’re also just so happy to see him looking to continue to grow and move up in the world.

I’m sure many of you watched the eclipse on Monday. We had a fun time checking it out, even though we weren’t on the path of totality. It was about 95% here, so we sent our morning ride out a bit early to make sure everyone could get back in time to put on their glasses and enjoy the show.

With the start of the adult-only season we’re kicking off the wine pairing dinners again. Friday nights will be a bit more noisy here I suspect, but they are always a great time with so many interesting dishes paired with tasty wines. Also in a couple weeks we’ll start heading out with our guests to round-up the cows. These weeks always lead to great stories of adventures on the trail–it’s such a splendid way to take in the fall colors and ride some beautiful country!

The office crew is shifting their attention over to winter with Zach getting the winter staff finalized and Devyn and the gals taking calls daily for winter reservations. It’s funny to be talking about the ranch covered in snow when we’re still outside in our short sleeves soaking up the summer rays, but it won’t be long before the snow starts falling and our winter wonderland returns. Until then, we’ll take every moment of time out on the dirt, crisp mornings and warm days, and the rustling of aspen leaves in the breeze.